Accommodation levels in Rio de Janeiro are anticipated to be at full occupancy during the conference. While it is not the responsibility of the United Nations to procure accommodation for the media, it should be noted that the Brazilian national organizing committee for Rio+20 has committed to blocking a minimum of 500 hotel rooms in Rio de Janeiro for media covering the conference. Costs must be covered by the media. For more details, visit: http://www.rio20.gov.br For information regarding room availability please contact: Terramar Travel Agency

July 25th 2011 IAAI has organized the side event ?Rio 2012 Youth Song World Cup? in the context of UN High Level Meeting on Youth http://social.un.org/youthyear/high-level-meeting.html which was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

With the event Rio 2012 YSWC organizers aimed to network with other youth networks and initiatives who are aiming to give youth a voice at Rio+20 conference, too in order to avoid duplication of efforts, facilitate the development of some kind of joint strategy youth and Rio 2012 and thus utilize synergy potentials and increase overall effectiveness of this kind of youth led sustainable development.

At the event there has been strong consensus that music is a very appropriate medium to engage youth and to provide them an avenue for expressing hopes/fears/demands related to global environmental challenges, United Nations and the role of civic engagement of youth.

(follow this link http://www.glocha.info/iaai/index.php/component/content/article/87-rioinitiativepresentation to see videos of the presentations and the detailed report)

Next steps of implementation of the initiative will be a Rio 2012 YSWC preparatory workshop in Klagenfurt/Austria with about 25 youth representatives from around the world and the launch of the ?Call for Music? at the International conference ?Knowledge, Youth and Global Commons - Orienting Knowledge Systems and Inter-Generational Relations towards Sustainable Development and Rio+20? 15 September 2011 19.00 CEST.

Winners of the initiative shall be presented at an public event end of March 2012 in New York to which members of UNCSD preparatory bureau, permanent missions and media will be invited

For further information visit http://www.glocha.info/iaai/index.php/conference2011